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XBox (Games) Microsoft Games

Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017, Says Report (kotaku.com) 82

Posted by msmash from the new-Xbox dept.
Keza MacDonald and Jason Schreier, reporting for game blog Kotaku: Microsoft is preparing at least two new Xbox models for release in the next two years, sources tell Kotaku. Later this year we'll see a cheaper, smaller Xbox One, and next year Microsoft will release a more powerful version of their premiere console. The 2017 Xbox, which is codenamed Scorpio, will have a more powerful GPU. We hear that it will also be technically capable of supporting the Oculus Rift and that Microsoft is pursuing a partnership with Oculus. As for 2016, sources have told us there's at least a more compact version coming by year's end. One source believed it will include a larger 2TB hard drive, double the capacity of the most spacious current model. We're expecting Microsoft to announce the more compact machine at E3 next month.
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Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017, Says Report More

Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017, Says Report

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  • "Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017"

    So everyone waits for 2017, right?

    • I don't even understand why they would release a more powerful console... are we going to see games soon that are "Only Compatible with XBOX ONE 2"?
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Wow, Osborne Effect much (Score:5, Informative)

        by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2016 @11:50AM (#52179515) Journal

        Worse I bet we see games that run better on XBox One.2

        The best thing about consoles is that you can grab a title off the shelf and expect a good experience that looks like the promo videos etc you see on Youtube and elsewhere. None of the well if you have this video card and are on the latest Windows with a down rev video driver installed BS. Consoles just work as expected.

        Moreover parents and other relatives just have to know the kid has an XBONE and can pick a title and expect they will be able to enjoy the gift.

        Microsoft is going to ruin that. Once we have to figure out well its XBONE software but it runs all choppy and you don't really want it unless you have XBONE.2, consoles will suck for all the reasons PC gaming sucks and offer none of the benefits the PC platform does.

        No Thanks

        • Or maybe, just maybe, every game will be compatible with the XBone, but when run in an XBone.5, will use prettier shaders, or better textures, or different models, or something along those lines.

          Maybe, just maybe, it'll be like pretty much every video game ever on the PC, which can increase or decrease quality in exchange for performance.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            That is my point exactly. That isn't what I want out of a console. I want the game to look and play as advertised. Now if everyone agrees to only market the game displayed on least common denominator hardware fine; but we know that isn't what's going to happen.

            Nothing was shittier as a kid than going and buying a sweet looking PC game and discovering it ran like shit on anything that was not at least twice the "system requirements".

            • Nintendo already has done the groundbreaking testing on this. Most 3DS games runs better on N3DS. Its really going to be the same isn't it? And maybe with 1-2 exclusive "Xbone2" games.

            • You're so worried about how publishers might (continue to) over-idealise their games that you want to remove (from everyone) the option of playing console games on a box that could actually get a lot closer to that ideal?

              May I suggest you take that up with the publishers instead? Or perhaps just wait for reviews that show what it actually runs like on your own hardware.

              Slightly less convenient for you & the publishers, yes, but updated hardware would allow many console gamers to get a greatly improved e

      • I don't even understand why they would release a more powerful console.

        I think a more powerful version is to support Occulus 3D technology. Most PCs today can't even support that technology. Since consoles set the lowest common denominator for multiplatform games, it would be nice to have a console that exceeds the capability of a PC and better games for the PC.

        • At best, consoles catch up with PCs for a split second on their release.

          As you say 'Most PCs today can't...' but some can. The new XBONE will match a state of the art PC of a year ago, maybe.

          • Unless they build a modular console, which is not so far-fetched, they are now building modular smart phones so that you can upgrade a piece at a time instead of buying a new phone every 2 years.

      • I don't even understand why they would release a more powerful console... are we going to see games soon that are "Only Compatible with XBOX ONE 2"?

        I was afraid of this sort of fragmenting too. I don't remember hearing/reading anything about the Xbox plans, but the info about Sony's requirements for their upgraded console leaked and I heard it talked about on a few podcasts. I don't remember ALL of the specifics, but IMHO the requirements are about as good as can be while doing this at all.

        Sony's requirem

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      "Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017"

      So everyone waits for 2017, right?

      Is it hurting Sony right now with their PS4k rumored to come out this year?

      In fact, to add to the confusion, it is expected that Sony will keep the PS4 and the PS4k.

      Of course, rumors are rumors, and while the PS4k is likely to come out in order to support PS VR, the Xbone rumor may be based off the fact that if Sony does it, Microsoft must, too... even though they don't have a VR headset thing going on.

    • Pretty much, yes. Other than cost reduction, a "smaller" XBox is pointless. The logical next step is 4K video support with a graphics card that can compete with a GTX 1080. And if that comes out in 2017, yes I will buy one. I just bought a used XBox One to tide my daughter over until then. She loves GTA V, which is hilarious to watch, and I would love to see them do a 4K version of GTA next tool. RockStar does games more like movies.

  • This doesn't really make much sense to me. It seems as if they're making a fork of XBox One that's compatible with earlier game releases, but will certainly have some exclusive games as well. Games that will utilize the "extra power". Reminds me of the whole N64 "expansion" debacle, but even that was mild compared to this. With the expansion modules you could upgrade your existing console whereas with this approach you'd essentially have to buy a new console to get the benefits and/or play the newer games.

    W

    • To me, it is just Microsoft not wanting to admit they completely fucked up with the Xbox One. The launch and reveal were PR and marketing disasters. Many of the despised "features" were rolled back but MS couldn't roll back the underwhelming hardware specs. Frankly, Xbox fans have to face the cold reality that the hardware is inferior to the PS4. But hardware design problems are not easy to fix later; a lesson you'd think MS learned with the Xbox 360 red ring problems. With much of the management that made
  • Microsoft partnership with another company? It's very dangerous, the last one was Nokia and we know what appened, and if we go before there are other example of failed partership.

  • So would that be an Xbox 2 or an Xbox 1/2?

  • Microsoft is pursuing a partnership with Oculus

    Well it's about someone put a fork in Oculus because after all it's broken promises, it's done. They deserve each other.

  • Microsoft will release a more powerful version of their premiere console.

    I thought the death of the console will finally come, but I didn't think it would be at the hands of Microsoft. Console running Windows programs in a unified environment, spying on users in 3D, requiring always on internet connections, computers now working with xbox controllers, and now consoles have multiple tiers of hardware.

    Any advantage the console had is now officially dead.

    • Any advantage the console had is now officially dead.

      Finally! Let the revival of the PC games begin! Long live the PC!

  • I thought the entire point of console gaming was that the hardware is always identical?

    This means that:

    - All games work on all hardware.
    - You only have to target one piece of hardware in development, which saves money.
    - You can buy a new console and feel like you made a good investment because a "slightly faster one" won't come out in a year or two.

    If MS is going to start upgrading consoles mid-generation, people might as well stick to PC gaming.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by H3lldr0p ( 40304 )

      But this generation are PCs under the hood.

      Microsoft deviated with having their custom data bus for their now failed Kinect. You know, that part that started out as completely necessary in order for the system to function? Not so much anymore. It is as many thought, able to be patched out.

      Anyways, Sony was a bit smarted and had invested in the other direction going without any customized parts. In that respect, they get free upgrades as AMD's die-shrinks and revisions happen. Microsoft doesn't get any of th

    • I thought the entire point of console gaming was that the hardware is always identical?

      This means that:

      - All games work on all hardware.

      You realize there were various different versions of PS3 already, right? The first backward compatible one with hardware, another one that had partial backward compatibility via software, and at least one more..

      Also, like I explained in another post, at least with Sony's upgraded PS4, this will be true.

  • XBox Two (would make sense, but that already disqualifies it)? XBox One-Two (also makes a little too much sense)? XBox 10 (would go nicely with Windows 10)? just "XBox" (reboot-style)?

    After all the naming idiocy of the last few years I cannot wait to hear what madness they've come up with this time...

  • PS4 is going to do it, Xbox is going to do it. A more 'iterative' Apple like approach.
    At one point (as in every other console generation, previous to now) you could purchase a console and rest assured that it would be /well supported/ for a good lifetime, anywhere from 4 to 7 years.

    The 'ruleset' for the new consoles, apparently also includes supporting the old device going forward. However with the old consoles, as there was only one choice, period - you would find in the later lifetime of the console, exceptionally good looking games were produced which did fascinating things with the hardware, as the developers were of course limited. Examples such as Uncharted 3, The Last of Us, God of War 2, The 'new' Tomb Raider game on Xbox 360, Gears of War 3. Shadow of the Colossus and so on.
    These new mid generation consoles will allow developers to focus on a new platform, while they still must support the old one, to appease Sony and MS certification and of course angry early adopters, it's /extremely/ likely that the support for the original consoles will not be quite up to the level it would've been, had they been the only choice for 5+ years, let alone as the device ages and more and more move to the newer models.

    One other advantage (if you will) of being a console gamer is that when you've decided to buy a console, there's an element of 'nerd relief' in that you don't even need to /consider/ upgrades. There's no such thing. You've accepted the compromise of console gaming* and once past that, can relax knowing you have the best on offer for that platform, for the full duration. This advantage is about to disappear and the nerdier gamers (myself included) will always have that urge to research the differences on the updated platform. Perhaps in game reviews we'll see "The original Xbox One edition of XYZ game, looks quite good, however the edition of XYZ game has vastly surprising and significant boosts in ABC features"
    We don't want to read that, if we wanted that, we'd have bought a PC.

    So yeah, I'm quite disappointed with this change in console gaming, I do not feel it's for the better. Well actually no, I'm sure there will be some benefits - but it will /almost certainly/ become a more expensive hobby going forward.

    * Yes console gaming is obviously a compromise from PC gaming in many ways, exceedingly few console gamers actually believe it's a better option than PC gaming, it's simply a different option. I PC gamed for near 25 years before I finally went 100% console gaming. Primarily time and money limitations.

    • Nobody seems to understand that those long console lifecycles were forced on the console manufacturers, not by a desire to provide a long life cycle (and thereby long-lasting value to the consumer), but by the need to recover the cost of developing the hardware in the first place. Now the situation is different: AMD is taking care of all the development, so the console manufacturers can simply refresh their consoles whenever they feel like. Compatibility is guaranteed because it is all PC hardware anyway. N

      • Regardless of the old limitations, there's an expected formula which has now been changed. I for one am not interested in such frequent iterations.

  • My money is on XBOX One:VR as a name. Games will be launched as VR - Only or VR compatible, where you can still play them on the "old" XBone but don't get any VR niceness. VR takes double the rendering power, so the older machine may still be able to play them on a traditional single screen and gamepad setup.

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